Polling extension application for interacting with a messaging application

ABSTRACT

A messaging system in one embodiment includes a messaging app and a polling extension app. The polling extension app is configured to create data for a polling context that is displayed in a view hosted by the messaging app to allow voting by users selected for the poll and to update the polling context with the votes from the users. The messaging app launches the polling extension app, and the polling context is communicated between the polling extension app and the messaging app through an interprocess communication.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/349,080, filed on Jun. 12, 2016, which provisionalapplication is incorporated herein by reference. This application isalso related to and claims the benefit of the following U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Nos. (all of which are incorporated herein byreference): 62/349,101, filed Jun. 12, 2016; 62/349,113, filed Jun. 12,2016; and 62/349,091, filed Jun. 12, 2016.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments described in this disclosure relate to messaging systemssuch as text messaging systems on cellular telephones or othercommunication devices or data processing systems.

The use of text messaging systems began many years ago. For example,wireless cellular telephone carriers, such as Verizon or AT&T, allowedtext messages through the Short Message Service (SMS) for cell phones inthe 1990s before smartphones were available. Typically, the amount ofdata transmitted has been limited by rules established by the carriers.Recently, as the use of smartphones (e.g. iPhones) and tablet computers(e.g. iPad) has increased, the text messaging systems have developed theability to send images, such as photos or emojis. In addition, messagingsystems such as iMessage from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. haveallowed users to also send and receive text and images through “public”networks which include “public” WiFi access points and the Internet (inaddition to using the wireless carrier's private cellular telephonenetworks), and messaging systems such as iMessage can seamlesslytransition between the use of public and private networks depending onthe availability of, for example, WiFi access points or thecompatibility of the other user's device (which may not be compatiblewith iMessage).

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

One aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to a messagingsystem which includes, on a client device, a messaging app and one ormore extension apps configured to create content that is displayed in aview hosted by the messaging app. The messaging app can launch the oneor more extension apps, and content in one embodiment is communicatedbetween each extension app and the messaging app through an interprocesscommunication. In one embodiment, a method can include: receiving, by afirst messaging application on a first device, a message and associatedmetadata from a second device, the message including content created bya second extension app that operated with a second messaging app on thesecond device. The first and the second messaging apps are in oneembodiment each configured to transmit Short Message Service (SMS) textmessages and other content and display those text messages in a messagetranscript. The method can further include displaying the content in amessage transcript in a user interface view of the messaging app, andcommunicating the content to a first extension app identified by an appidentifier in the metadata, from the first messaging app, the contentcommunicated through an interprocess communication (IPC) from the firstmessaging app, which executes in a first process, to the first extensionapp which executes in a second process that is distinct from the firstprocess. The method can further include displaying a user interface ofthe first extension app within the user interface of the first messagingapp.

In one embodiment, the user interface of the first extension app isconfigured to display the content, such as the content created by thesecond extension app on the second device, and to receive user input tomodify the content. In one embodiment, the user interface of each of theextension apps, when displayed, can replace an on-screen keyboard of themessaging app. In one embodiment, the first extension app can modify thecontent and pass the modified content to the first messaging app throughan IPC, for transmission to the second messaging app for delivery to thesecond extension app on the second device. In one embodiment, the firstextension app and the second extension app are two instances of the sameextension app and are each identified by the same app identifier whichcan be provided by an app marketplace or other service which providesfor the downloading of the extension apps.

In one embodiment, the first extension app can be configured to receivean obfuscated identifier of the user of the other device (seconddevice), wherein the obfuscated identifier can be configured to beunique to the first extension app relative to all other extension appson the first device. The obfuscated identifier allows each extension appto identify users in a collaborative environment, such as an environmentin which multiple users are attempting to schedule a meeting or reservea table at a restaurant, etc.

In one embodiment, the first extension app can change the view that ishosted by the messaging app. For example, in one embodiment, the firstextension app can call, through an Application Programming Interface(API), to the first messaging app to request a change of the extensionapp's view within the first messaging app. In one embodiment, the changeof the extension app's view is a switch between a compact view and anexpanded view. In one embodiment, the user interface of the extensionapp in the compact view can be displayed in a screen region where anon-screen keyboard of the first messaging app was displayed while thefirst messaging app's message transcript remains viewable. In anotherembodiment, the compact view of the extension app can be displayed as anoverlay on the on-screen keyboard. In one embodiment, the extensionapp's view in the expanded view is displayed in a screen region whereboth the on-screen keyboard and the message transcript were displayedsuch that the message transcript is not viewable and the on-screenkeyboard of the first messaging app is also not viewable.

In one embodiment, the metadata which is received from the second devicecan include a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or other types or forms ofresource locators (e.g. a Uniform Resource Identifier, (URI), XML, etc.)and data which are communicated by the first messaging app to the firstextension app through an IPC, wherein the resource locator and datamaintain session information between the second extension app on thesecond device and the first extension app on the first device. In oneembodiment, the extension apps communicate through the respectivemessaging apps which host their views on each device. In one embodiment,each extension app can be configured to modify at least one of theresource locator or data and pass the modified resource locator or datato the other extension app through both messaging apps. In oneembodiment, the modification of the resource locators or data can beimplemented in a session in which the same session bubble in a messagetranscript is displayed over time as the information within the bubblechanges as a result of user interaction on either side of thecommunication. In one embodiment, each extension app can also receive acall back from its corresponding messaging app which indicates whetherthe other extension app received the modified content, such as themodified resource locator or data.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to how anextension app is launched in response to a selection of a message bubblein a message transcript presented by a messaging application. A methodaccording to this aspect can include: receiving, by a first messagingapp on a first device a message and metadata from a second device, themessage including content created by a second extension that operatedwith a second messaging app on the second device. The method can furtherinclude displaying the content in a message container, such as a messagebubble, within a message transcript in the messaging app and thenreceiving a selection of the message container, such as a tap by auser's finger on the message bubble. The method can further includelaunching a first extension app, if it is installed on the first devicein response to the selection of the message bubble, wherein the firstextension app is identified for launching by an app identifier in themetadata received from the second device. In one embodiment the methodcan further include displaying, after the launching, a user interface ofthe first extension within the user interface of the first messagingapp. In one embodiment, the message container can be a message bubblethat is specified by a bubble identifier in the metadata, and thecontent can be associated with the bubble identifier so that the contentcreated by the second extension app appears within the message bubblehaving that bubble identifier. In one embodiment, the first and thesecond messaging apps are each configured to transmit SMS text messagesand other content and display the text messages in message bubbles in amessage transcript. In one embodiment, the first messaging app and thefirst extension app are configured to communicate through IPC, and thefirst messaging app executes in a first sandboxed process and the firstextension app executes in a second sandboxed process that is distinctfrom the first sandboxed process. In one embodiment, the content isdisplayed by the first messaging app before the selection of the messagebubble without launching or executing the first extension app; in otherwords, the first extension app does not need to be executing in orderfor the content to be displayed in the message bubble by the firstmessaging app in one embodiment. In one embodiment, an API can existbetween the first messaging app and the first extension app to permitcommunication through calls utilizing the API.

In one embodiment the content received by the first messaging app isreceived in an encrypted form and is decrypted by the first messagingapp, and the decrypted form is passed, through an IPC, to the firstextension app.

In one embodiment, the first messaging app can offer to download andinstall the first extension app if the first extension app is notinstalled. The first messaging app can maintain a registry (e.g., alist) of installed extension apps, and this registry can be used todetermine whether an extension app is installed when, for example, theuser taps on or selects a message bubble having content created by aparticular extension. If in response to the selection of that messagebubble the first messaging app determines that the particular extensionapp required to process the content (as specified by an app identifierprovided along with the message) is not installed then the firstmessaging app can present a notice to the user which gives the user anoption to select which will cause the device to download and install theextension app. In one embodiment, the downloading and installation ofthe extension app can be performed in the background while the firstmessaging app remains the foreground app on the device.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to methods forproviding backward compatibility which can occur in situations when onedevice communicates with an older device or a device having an oldermessaging system which is not fully compatible with the newer messagingsystem. A method according to this aspect can include in one embodiment:creating, by an extension app executing in a first process, contentdisplayed within a view hosted by a first messaging app on a firstdevice, where the first messaging app executes in a second process thatis distinct from the first process, and the content is communicated fromthe extension app to the first messaging app through an interprocesscommunication in response to a selection of a send command to cause thecontent to be sent to a second device. The method can further includedetermining, by the first messaging app from data about the seconddevice, that a second messaging app on the second device is notcompatible with the extension app, and then sending, by the firstmessaging app, an alternative content to the second messaging app. Inone embodiment, this alternative content can include one or more of (a)an image in a standard format; or (b) a resource locator that can beused to retrieve a web page on the second device.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to an appmarketplace or similar service which can, in one embodiment, providebrowsable views of extension apps which can be downloaded and installedfrom the app marketplace or similar service. In one embodiment, the appsmay be obtained for free or may be purchased and then downloaded andinstalled on a user device. In one embodiment, the downloading can occurin response to the selection of a message bubble containing contentcreated by an extension app which has not been installed on thereceiving device. In one embodiment, a method can include the following:receiving, by a first messaging application (app) on a first device, amessage and associated metadata from a second device wherein the messageincludes content created by a second extension app that operated with asecond messaging app on the second device, wherein the associatedmetadata includes an app identifier associated with the second extensionapp; displaying the content in a message transcript in a user interfaceview of the first messaging app; determining whether a first extensionapp identified by the app identifier is installed for use with the firstmessaging app; displaying a notice to a user, the notice including anoption to cause the first device to download and install the firstextension app, wherein the notice is displayed in response todetermining that the first extension app is not installed for use withthe first messaging app; and in response to a selection of the option,downloading and installing the first extension app. In one embodiment,the first device determines that the first extension app which isidentified by the app identifier is not installed in response to theuser's selection of the content in the message transcript (e.g., theuser taps on the content in a message bubble in the message transcript).In one embodiment, the first extension app is downloaded from a servicethat provides multiple messaging extension apps for download, and theapp identifier is provided by the service. In one embodiment, theservice includes one or more server systems that include a browsablecatalog of messaging extension apps which can be downloaded from theservice. In one embodiment, the download and install of the firstextension app can occur while the first messaging app remains theforeground app. In one embodiment the method can further include addingan icon representing the first extension app into a browsable view ofinstalled extension apps, the browsable view displayed by the firstmessaging app, and the addition of the icon occurs after the firstextension app is installed.

In one embodiment, the installed first extension app can communicatethrough an IPC with the first messaging app which executes in a firstprocess which is different than the second process in which the firstextension app executes.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to extensionapps which are polling apps that enable users to vote on a question.

The polling extension app described herein are resilient against networkfailures because they can work off-line. Asynchronous storage of on-linedata and background user interface refreshes reduces the user'sawareness of network delays. Unlike existing polling methods, thepolling extension app does not require that the user open each messagesent by the other voting users.

The methods and systems described herein can be implemented by dataprocessing systems, such as one or more smartphones, tablet computers,desktop computers, laptop computers, smart watches, wearable, audioaccessories, on-board computer, and other data processing systems andother consumer electronic devices. The methods and systems describedherein can also be implemented by one or more data processing systemswhich execute executable computer program instructions, stored in one ormore non-transitory machine readable media that cause the one or moredata processing systems to perform the one or more methods describedherein when the program instructions are executed. Thus, the embodimentsdescribed herein can include methods, data processing systems, andnon-transitory machine readable media.

The above summary does not include an exhaustive list of all embodimentsin this disclosure. All systems and methods can be practiced from allsuitable combinations of the various aspects and embodiments summarizedabove, and also those disclosed in the Detailed Description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements.

FIG. 1A shows an example of a user interface for a messaging app on acommunication device.

FIG. 1B shows another example of a user interface for a messaging app ona communication device.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a messaging system which employs one or moremessaging servers to provide a messaging service to a set of clientdevices.

FIG. 3A shows a block diagram of an architecture for providing extensionapps for use with a messaging app according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3B shows an example of a user interface of a message bubble createdat least in part by an extension app according to one embodiment herein.

FIG. 3C shows an example of parts of a message bubble based on atemplate.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart which shows a method according to one embodimentfor browsing, selecting, and launching an extension app from within amessaging app according to one or more embodiments described herein.

FIG. 4B shows an example of a user interface for a messaging app whichincludes a browsable view of installed extension apps according to oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 5A shows an example of a user interface of a messaging app whichincludes a view of an extension app within the user interface of themessaging app.

FIG. 5B shows an example of a user interface of an extension app, afterthe user has created content in the extension app, wherein the view ofthe extension app is hosted within the user interface of the messagingapp.

FIG. 5C shows an example of a user interface of a messaging app on acommunication device after the user has created content using anextension app and has sent the content by using the messaging app tosend the content.

FIG. 5D shows an example of a user interface in a messaging app on areceiving device after the receiving device receives content created byan extension app on the sending device.

FIG. 5E shows an example of a user interface on a receiving device whenthe user of the receiving device selects the message bubble containingthe content created by the extension app on the sending device so thatthe user of the receiving device can edit the content on the receivingdevice.

FIG. 5F shows an example of a user interface which offers to downloadand install an extension app for use with the messaging app on thedevice.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart which illustrates a method which can be performedon a receiving device according to one embodiment described herein.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart which depicts a method according to oneembodiment in which an extension app can change its view hosted by amessaging app according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7B shows an example of a user interface of an extension app in anexpanded view according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an example according to one embodiment in which extensionapps on two or more devices can interact with each other through themessaging apps on each device.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart which illustrates a method according to one ormore embodiments described herein for allowing the interaction betweenextension apps on different devices.

FIG. 9B shows an example of a message bubble in a user interface whichcan result from the method shown in FIG. 9A when two or more extensionapps interact in a session.

FIG. 9C shows an example of a message bubble according to one embodimentin which a download and install for a required extension app occurswhile the messaging app remains in the foreground.

FIGS. 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, and 9H show an example of the message transcriptson two different devices that are involved in a conversation between twomessaging apps, one on each device, wherein the conversation involves asession between two extension apps. The user interface shown in FIGS.9D, 9E, 9F, 9G and 9H show how content in message bubbles created by theextension apps can be converted into breadcrumbs according to one ormore embodiments described herein.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart which illustrates a method according to oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart which illustrates a method according to oneembodiment described herein.

FIG. 12 shows a user interface of a messaging app in which content fromtwo or more different extension apps is presented within the samemessage transcript provided by the messaging app.

FIG. 13A is a flowchart which shows a method according to one embodimentfor providing backward compatibility for older devices or oldermessaging systems.

FIG. 13B shows an example of a user interface in which backwardcompatibility has been provided within a messaging app.

FIG. 14A shows a method according to one embodiment in which a receivingdevice (which has received a message) downloads and installs anextension app required to view or interact with the content in one ofthe messages.

FIG. 14B shows an example of a user interface of an extension appmarketplace or service from which extension apps can be downloaded andinstalled.

FIG. 15 shows an example of a system according to one embodiment inwhich polling extension apps on two or more devices can interact witheach other through the messaging apps on each device.

FIG. 16A is an example of a polling context sent by the messaging appsas illustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 16B is an example of a polling record which is stored in cloudstorage as illustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a create poll processexecuted by a polling extension app to allow a user to create a pollwithin the system illustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 illustrates user interface screens created by a pollingextension app when executing the create poll process of FIG. 17 tocreate a poll.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a receive poll processexecuted by a polling extension app to allow a user to vote on a pollwithin the system illustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 20 illustrates user interface screens created by a pollingextension app when executing the receive poll process of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 illustrates user interface screens created by a pollingextension app when executing the create poll process of FIG. 17 uponcompletion of a poll.

FIG. 22 shows an example of a user interface for a poll that includesimages (e.g., photographs) as answers for the poll that can be providedthrough a polling extension app.

FIGS. 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E, 23F, 23G, 23H, 23I, 23J, 23K, 23L, and23M show examples of user interfaces for a poll that can be providedthrough a polling extension app.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a data processing system that can be used inone or more embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments and aspects will be described with reference todetails discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustratethe various embodiments. The following description and drawings areillustrative and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specificdetails are described to provide a thorough understanding of variousembodiments. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventionaldetails are not described in order to provide a concise discussion ofembodiments.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the sameembodiment. The processes depicted in the figures that follow areperformed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry,dedicated logic, etc.), software, or a combination of both. Although theprocesses are described below in terms of some sequential operations, itshould be appreciated that some of the operations described may beperformed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may beperformed in parallel rather than sequentially.

The various embodiments described herein relate to messaging systemssuch as text messaging systems or “chat” messaging systems or othersystems which allow devices to communicate messages between the devices.For example, iMessage from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. is an exampleof a messaging service for iOS devices and Mac (OS X) computers.Typically, a messaging system includes the plurality of client devices,each including at least one messaging app, and a set of one or moremessaging servers that can receive messages from client devices andtransmit messages to client devices. FIG. 1A shows an example of a userinterface of a messaging app on a client device. The client device canbe a communication device 10 which can be a smartphone, or tabletcomputer, or a desktop computer or a laptop computer, wearable, on-boardcomputer, or other data processing systems or other consumer electronicsdevices. In one embodiment, the device can include a conventional touchscreen that can both display images and also accept touch inputs from auser. The touch screen 12 on the communication device can display theuser interface of the messaging app which can include a messagetranscript 16 and an on-screen keyboard 20 below the message transcript16. In addition, the user interface of the messaging app can include auser name 14 indicating the recipient, in one embodiment, of messagessent from the communication device 10. In addition, the user interfacecan include a text entry region 18 which indicates the content of thetext entered by the user before it is sent; in a sense, the text entryregion 18 is a text staging area indicating text that is ready to besent to the recipient.

FIG. 1B shows a more detailed example of a user interface of a messagingapp on a communication device 10A. The user interface is displayed inthis embodiment on touch screen 12A and includes on-screen keyboard 20A,text entry region 18A, a message transcript 16A and a user name 14Ashowing the name of the other user(s) to whom messages are sent and fromwhom messages are received. The text entry region 18A is a staging areafor content such as one or more of text, stickers, extension appcontent, images etc. which are ready to be sent in response to theuser's selection of the send command (and in one embodiment, the contentcan be edited in the staging area). In the example shown in FIG. 1B,messages from Freddy (user name 14A) are shown on the left side of themessage transcript 16A and messages sent by the user of communicationdevice 10A are shown on the right side of message transcript 16A. Hence,message bubble 17 shows the message “Where at?” sent by the user ofcommunication device 10A to Freddy as a response to the message fromFreddy “Dinner tonight?”. The message in message bubble 17 causes Freddyto respond with “How's this?” shown in message bubble 19. The use of theword “bubble”, such as message bubble or session bubble, etc. is notmeant to imply any specific shape or form; rather it is intended to meanany shape or form of demarcation between messages between two or moreparticipants, and thus the demarcation can use boxes or lines or messagecontainers or different colors, etc. Thus the phrase “message bubble” ismeant to cover all such demarcations (or other ways to distinguish)between messages between two or more participants, and particularly inthe context of such demarcations or other ways to distinguish in amessage transcript. In one embodiment, the message transcript can bescrolled up and down and messages in the message transcript arepresented in sequence according to their time, thus the user can see theactual chat or conversation over time by scrolling the view up or down.The user interface shown in FIG. 1B also includes three icons 22, 23,and 24 above the on-screen keyboard 20A and to the left of the textentry region 18A. The extension apps view icon 22, when selected, causesthe display of a view of the installed extensions app that can operatewith the messaging app, and the view provided can be a browsable view,such as the browsable view 157 shown in FIG. 4B to allow the user toscroll through multiple pages showing all of the installed extensionapps that are configured to operate with the messaging app according tothe one or more embodiments described herein. The imaging app icon 23can in one embodiment be an icon that when selected causes the launchingof a plugin of the messaging app that provides image creation within themessaging app's process such as the plugin shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B, and5C. The camera app icon 24 in one embodiment can, when selected, causethe communication device 10A to enter into a camera mode in which acamera of a device can capture still images or video images which can beplaced into the message in order to send the image or video.

A brief overview of an example of a messaging system will now beprovided in conjunction with FIG. 2. A messaging system 50 can include aplurality of client devices, such as client devices 53 and 54. Each ofthese client devices can include at least one messaging app that isconfigured to operate with extension apps according to the one or moreembodiments described herein and also communicate at least text messagesand optionally resource locators or images or other content (e.g. asdescribed relative to FIG. 13A) for devices that are not compatible withthe extension app architecture in a messaging app. In a typicalmessaging system, there can be millions of client devices communicatingthrough a set of messaging servers. In one embodiment, a plurality ofmessaging servers can be configured to receive encrypted messages fromsending devices and then transmit those encrypted messages to thereceiving devices. Another set of servers can be configured to receivenon-text content, such as images or other “attachments” and providethose images or attachments in download operations to receiving devicesin response to requests from those receiving devices to obtain theimages or attachments. In one embodiment, a sender's outgoing message isindividually encrypted for each of the receiver's devices. In oneembodiment, an asymmetric RSA encryption algorithm can be used toperform the encryption. In one embodiment, the public RSA encryptionkeys of each of the receiving devices can be retrieved from a directoryservice (maintained by the one or more messaging servers) which includesa database, such as a database 52 which is coupled to the one or moremessaging servers 51. When a client device, such as client device 53seeks to send a message to another client device, it identifies theother client device (such as by an email address or a telephone numberor other identifier) to the one or more messaging servers 51. Thatidentifier is sent from the client device, such as client device 53 toone or more messaging servers 51 which then perform a lookup operationin the database 52 based upon the supplied identifier to retrieve thepublic key that corresponds to that identifier. That public key is thentransmitted back to the client device which requested the public key forthat particular receiving device, and then the client device can encryptthe message using the public key or using another key (e.g. a symmetrickey) which can be randomly generated, and that other key is encryptedwith the public RSA encryption key for the particular receiving device.In one embodiment, the randomly generated key can be randomly generatedon a per message basis. In one embodiment, the resulting messages, onefor each receiving device, consists of the encrypted message text, theencrypted message key, and the sender's digital signature, and thisresulting message for each receiving device is then uploaded to the oneor more messaging servers 51 for delivery to the recipient clientdevices, such as client device 54. In one embodiment, the messagingsystem 50 can be configured to operate through “public” networks whichinclude public WiFi access points (such as WiFi access points in coffeeshops, airports, etc.) and also the Internet. The messaging apps on eachof the client devices 53 and 54 can also be configured to operate withthe “private” networks provided by wireless cellular telephone carriers,such as Verizon and AT&T, and the messaging apps can be configured toseamlessly switch between the use of the private and public networksdepending upon the availability of each and also depending upon thecompatibility of each of the client devices in a messaging session. Inone embodiment, the messaging servers 51 can include a set of pushnotification servers which receive the uploaded text messages and which“push” those text messages to receiving devices.

A messaging system in one embodiment on a client device includes amessaging app and one or more extension apps that each operate asseparate processes. In one embodiment, the message app and the one ormore extension apps can each be separate sandboxed processes thatoperate or execute in their own memory spaces. In addition, themessaging app can also operate with plug-ins, such as an image creationplug-in shown in FIG. 5A, which operate within the same process andmemory space as the messaging app. The messaging app and each extensionapp communicate with each other through an interprocess communication,such as the XPC framework provided in iOS and Mac OS X. The messagingapp is designed to receive text on a sending device from a user of thedevice and display the text in a message transcript and send the text,through a set of one or more messaging servers, to a receiving devicewhich displays, through a counterpart messaging application on thereceiving device, the received text in a message transcript on thereceiving device. The receiving device and the sending device can eachhave a copy of the same extension app which are configured to createcontent of a certain type depending upon the particular extension app(or, in an alternative embodiment, each can include a copy of differentextension apps that are compatible for the content used by them).

FIG. 3A shows an example of a software architecture in which a messagingapp and one or more extension apps operate together to provide anenhanced messaging system. As shown in FIG. 3A, the messaging system 75includes a messaging app 76 and a set of plug-in modules, such as acomposition module 77 and a data transport module 79 which areconfigured to communicate through an interprocess communication (IPC) 81with the one or more extension apps 83. As shown in FIG. 3A, themessaging app and the composition module 77 and the data transportmodule 79 operate within the messaging app processes in a memory spacecontrolled by a kernel on the communication device which executes themessaging system 75. The composition module 77 composes the content of amessage bubble when the message bubble displays or otherwise presentscontent passed to the messaging app through the IPC 81. The datatransport module 79 passes the content and other data to the extensionapp through the IPC 81 and receives the content and other data from theextension app through the IPC 81. Both modules 77 and 79 in oneembodiment can have an extendable plug-in architecture that allows theaddition of new plug-ins for new extension apps that generate newcontent or require a new data transport process. In this context, theplug-ins are additional software that operate within the same process asthe messaging app. The composition module 77 can use a template toconstruct a message bubble such as the “MSMessageTemplateLayout”described below relative to FIG. 3C. The kernel can include a softwarelibrary or software framework for providing the IPC 81 to allowcommunication between the messaging system 75 and the one or moreextension apps 83. In one embodiment, the IPC framework can include asystem area that is referred to as an extension point which providesAPIs to allow for communication between the two different processes andto reinforce policies in terms of the types of communications which arepermissible. In one embodiment, the communication through IPC involvesthe placement (writing) of content in a memory region by one process andthe IPC framework allows another process to read from that memoryregion. In one embodiment, the messaging app 76 can launch automaticallythe extension app processes and can manage their lifetime, including thetermination of those processes. In one embodiment, each of the extensionapps 83 run in their own address space communication between theextension and the messaging app uses the IPC mediated by the systemframework and they do not have access to each other's files or memoryspaces. In one embodiment, each of the extension apps may be a sandboxedprocess which are separate from each other and the messaging app 76 canalso be a separate sandboxed process which is separate from thesandboxed processes of the extension apps. Moreover, the extension appscan be provided with fewer system permissions relative to the messagingapp so that the extension apps operate in a more restricted environmentthan the messaging app. Further information in connection with the useof interprocess communications for extensions can be found in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/488,122, filed Sep. 16, 2014 andpublished as U.S. Publication No. U.S. 2015/0347748, which applicationis incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment the messaging app provides a view of content obtainedfrom the extension app through the interprocess communication. Theextension app can create the content in its own process and then providethat content in formats known to be acceptable to the messaging app(such as standard image formats or other standard formats). This allowsthe messaging app to then present the content from the extension appwithin one or more message bubbles within a message transcript (withoutneeding to execute the extension app at least on the receiving device).FIG. 3B shows an example of a message bubble 17A which contains contentcreated by and provided from an extension app, shown as content 85 whichalso can include a text message created by or provided by the extensionapp, such as text message 86. In one embodiment, the message bubble 17Acan also include an icon 87 which can be the icon of the extension appwhich created the content 85.

Objects created by an extension app in one embodiment are shown in themessage transcript on sending and receiving devices without launchingthe extension app. The extension app should provide enough informationto construct a message bubble as part of the object. The object canconsist of some opaque data encoded in a resource locator and a layoutspecification provided as a MSMessageTemplateLayout object.

MSMessageTemplateLayout is a subclass of MSMessageLayout and representsone method of specifying message bubble layout.

MSMessageTemplateLayout can have the following properties in oneembodiment which are shown in FIG. 3C:

1) image or mediaFileURL: An image provide as a UIImage or as a file URLto an image file or a file URL to a video

2) imageTitle: A string the will be rendered on top of the image ormovie

3) imageSubTitle: A string the will be rendered on top of the image ormovie below the imageTitle

4) caption: A string the will be rendered in a caption bar below theimage or movie

5) trailingCaption: A string the will be rendered right aligned in acaption bar below the image or movie

6) subCaption: A string the will be rendered in a caption bar below thecaption

7) trailingSubCaption: A string the will be rendered right aligned in acaption bar below the trailingCaption

8) Extension icon: This is not provided as part of theMSMessageTemplateLayout but is derived from the bundle identifier of theextension that created the MSMessage.

The messaging app can use this information to construct the messagebubble similar to the example shown in FIG. 3C.

The MSMessageTemplateLayout is serialized and transferred to the remotedevices along with the opaque data. On receipt the messaging app on thereceiving device will create a MSMessageTemplateLayout using theserialized data and use this to draw the message bubble in thereceiver's message transcript.

In one embodiment, the extension apps which are configured to operatewith a messaging app are not executable outside of the messagingapplication, and thus their life cycle is managed entirely by themessaging app. Moreover, as further described below, the downloading andinstalling of the extension apps can be controlled exclusively by themessaging app in one embodiment.

In one embodiment, each extension app can be obtained from an appmarketplace or distribution facility such as the Apple App Store(trademark) for message extension apps and can be launched from withinthe messaging app. FIG. 4A shows an example of a method according to oneembodiment in which the installed extension apps can be browsed fromwithin the messaging app, and a particular extension app can be launchedto allow the user to interact with a particular extension app. Themethod can begin in operation 101 in which the messaging app displaysits message transcript and an on-screen keyboard. FIG. 1B shows anexample of a user interface of such a messaging app. Then in operation103, the messaging app can receive an input to display a browsable viewof installed extension apps within a view of the messaging app. Forexample, a user may tap on the icon 22 (in FIG. 1B) to select the iconwhich in turn causes the display of the browsable view in operation 105.In one embodiment, the browsable view of installed extension apps takesthe place of the on-screen keyboard and retrieves the list of theinstalled extension apps from an extension registry which causes thedisplay of icons for each of the installed extension apps. FIG. 4B showsan example of the result of operation 105 in which a browsable view 157is displayed and takes the place of the on-screen keyboard of themessaging app as shown in FIG. 4B.

Referring to FIG. 4B, it can be seen that the browsable view 157includes a plurality of icons each representing one of the installedextension apps that can operate with the messaging app that provides theuser interface shown in FIG. 4B. The user interface of the messaging appshown in FIG. 4B includes a message transcript 153 shown in the upperportion of the touch screen 151 on the communication device 150 whichexecutes the messaging app. A user name 155 of the other user (recipientof messages sent from communication device 150) is shown at the top ofthe user interface of the messaging app. A text entry region 155 (whichshows text or other content that is staged or ready to be sent) isdisplayed between the message transcript 153 and the browsable view 157.In one embodiment, the browsable view is browsable by swiping the user'sfinger across the touch screen to cause the pages in the various viewsof installed extension apps to be displayed (and in one embodiment, canalso show, for example, uninstalled extension apps that either need tocomplete a download process or need to complete an install process). Inone embodiment, a page indicator 159 at the bottom of the user interfacecan show the current page of installed extension apps. In oneembodiment, one of the icons can be reserved to launch or enter theextension app marketplace, an example of which is shown in FIG. 14B. Inanother embodiment the extension app marketplace can be displayed in thebrowsable view 157 in response to selecting icon 167. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4B, the icon 167 is the extension app marketplace iconwhich can be selected to cause the presentation of the extension appmarketplace, such as the extension app marketplace shown in FIG. 14B. Inthe embodiment shown in FIG. 4B, the icon 169 can be selected (e.g. usertaps icon 169) to cause the display in the browsable view of recentlysent stickers or handwritten messages or other recently sent items orrecently used apps, etc. The display of recently sent items, etc. can inone embodiment be provided by a plug-in operating within the messagingapp's process. Other extension apps include a restaurant reservation appicon 161 which can be an extension app that can be used to engage arestaurant reservation service, such as Open Table. Another example ofan extension app is represented by icon 163 which when selected launchesa restaurant review app which provides reviews of restaurants and whichcan be similar to the reviews provided by Yelp, for example. The otherextension app icons 165 and 171 represent other extension apps which areinstalled and which can be launched by selecting one of those extensionapp icons.

Referring back to FIG. 4A, once the browsable view is displayed byoperation 105, the user can select one of the extension apps byselecting the corresponding icon which in turn causes the launching ofthe selected extension app in operation 107. In one embodiment, themessaging app calls a system service to launch the selected extensionapp and prepare it for execution as an extension of the messaging appusing the architecture shown, for example, in FIG. 3A. Once the selectedextension app has been launched and is executing, the messaging app,such as messaging app 76 can host the view of the content provided bythe executing extension app through the IPC framework as describedherein. For example, in operation 109 shown in FIG. 4A, the messagingapp can display a view of the content provided by the extension appwithin a portion of the view of the messaging app. FIGS. 5A through 5Fwill now be described as examples of how the messaging app hosts theview of the content of the executing extension app.

FIG. 5A shows an example of a messaging app that hosts a view of aplug-in of a messaging app that is an image creation app launched byselecting the icon 207 (e.g. icon 207 is touched or tapped or otherwiseselected by a user). In another embodiment, the plug-in shown in thebottom portion of the user interface shown in FIG. 5A may be launched byselecting one of the icons in the browsable view 157 shown in FIG. 4B.While the example shown in FIG. 5A can be implemented as a plug-in ofthe messaging app, in another embodiment, the example shown in FIG. 5Acan be an extension app. In the example shown in FIG. 5A, the view ofthe plug-in (or extension app) has taken the place of the on-screenkeyboard of the messaging app, but the message transcript of themessaging app is still viewable and displayed in the user interface,allowing the user to scroll through the message transcript in oneembodiment to see the entire transcript. In another embodiment, the viewof the plug-in or extension app is an overlay on top of the on-screenkeyboard, a portion of which may be viewable. The transcript isdisplayed on the touchscreen 202 in one embodiment on the communicationdevice 200. The user interface of the message app also includes the username 203 which presents in one embodiment the name of the other user inthe conversation or chat. The user interface of the message app alsoincludes the text entry region 211 which is similar to the text entryregion 18A and the text entry region 155. The plug-in (or extension app)includes a drawing canvas 215 and various controls and options which canbe selected by the user to draw or create images. Drawing controls 212in one embodiment can allow the users to select different colors tosketch on the drawing canvas if the sketch option 217 is selected. Theplug-in (or extension app) can also provide taps as a message if the tapoption 221 is selected. The plug-in (or extension app) can also provideheartbeats if the heartbeat option 219 is selected. In one embodiment,the sketch, heartbeat, and taps can be similar to the sketch, heartbeatand taps on the Digital Touch application which is available on theApple Watch. The plug-in (or extension app) also includes an expandedview icon 223 which when selected can cause the plug-in (or extensionapp) to switch from its current compact view shown in FIG. 5A to anexpanded view, such as the expanded view shown in FIG. 7B. In theexample shown in FIG. 5A, the user has just launched the plug-in imagecreation app (or an extension app in the alternative embodiment) and hasnot yet created any content. This can be contrasted with the state ofthe plug-in (or extension app) shown in FIG. 5B in which the user hascreated a happy face sketch by using the sketch option 217 and bydrawing on the drawing canvas 215 with, for example, the user's finger.The user can then cause the drawing to be sent to the other user (orusers) who would be recipients for the message. Thus for example, theuser of the device 200 can select a send command from within themessaging app executing on communication device 200 to cause the contentcreated by the plug-in (or extension app) to be sent to the recipients.The result of the sending operation is shown in FIG. 5C in which thehappy face has been sent to Freddy as indicated by the user name 203.The message bubble 230 shows the happy face sketch that was created bythe plug-in (or extension app); in the case of the extension app, thiscreated content was communicated from the extension app through the IPCframe work to the messaging app and then presented within the messagebubble 230 to show that the message containing that content wastransmitted to one or more recipients. In one embodiment, a deliveryindicator 231 can indicate that the message was delivered and a keepcontrol 232 can be provided to the user to allow the user to retain thecontent in the message transcript in those embodiments in which thecontent can be automatically eliminated after a period of time.

FIGS. 5D, 5E, and 5F illustrate what can happen on the receiver's devicein response to receiving the content from the communication device 200shown in FIG. 5C.

Also, the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 can show the method performed at thereceiving device, such as the communication device 250 shown in FIGS.5D, 5E, and 5F. Referring now to FIG. 5D, it can be seen that thecommunication device 250 (used by Freddy) has received the happy facecontent which is shown in message bubble 253. This content was createdby the extension app executing on communication device 200 whichprovided the happy face content to the messaging app executing oncommunication device 200 which in turn transmitted that content througha messaging service (e.g., a set of messaging servers, such as themessaging servers 51 shown in FIG. 2) to the messaging app executing onthe communication device 250 which in turn presented the content in themessage bubble 253. In one embodiment, the content can be rendered bythe messaging app as it uses known standard formats (including standardimage, audio, and video formats in one embodiment) and thus theextension app need not be installed or executing in order to show thecontent created by the counterpart (remote) extension application on thesending device. Thus in this case as shown in FIG. 5D, the messagebubble 253 can present the content even though the counterpart extensionapplication may not be executed or may not even be installed on thecommunication device 250. The messaging app shown in FIG. 5D includes,in its user interface, a message transcript 201A, a text entry region211, and an on-screen keyboard 255. In one embodiment, content receivedfrom a remote extension app will not cause the launching automaticallyof the corresponding extension app on the receiving device even if thecorresponding extension app is installed. In this embodiment, thecorresponding extension app on the receiving device can be launched bythe user's selection of the message bubble containing the contentcreated by the remote extension app. If the user does select thatcontent by, for example, touching or otherwise selecting the messagebubble 253, then the extension app that corresponds to the remoteextension app will be launched if installed on the communication device250. The result is shown in FIG. 5E in which the user interface of theextension app has occupied the space in which the on-screen keyboard 255was previously displayed and shows the happy face drawing within thecanvas 215 allowing the user of the communication device 250 to alter orotherwise modify that sketch and perhaps send it back to the other userin the chat session or conversation. If, on the other hand, thecorresponding extension app is not installed on the communicationdevice, then in one embodiment the messaging app can present a notice tothe user asking or offering to install the app for the particularmessage bubble which was selected. An example of this is shown in FIG.5F in which the notice 259 includes two user selectable options, one ofwhich will install the required app for the message bubble. In anotherembodiment, a sheet that shows a page of information from an extensionapp marketplace can be displayed within the view of the messaging app.

In one embodiment, the message transmitted from the remote device to thecommunication device 250 contains metadata which specifies the remoteextension app used to create the content. In one embodiment, thismetadata can be an app identifier, such as an identifier provided by anapp marketplace or an extension app marketplace from which the extensionapps can be downloaded and installed or can be a different identifierthat can be associated with the identifier used by the app marketplace.In one embodiment, the notice 259 can result from the selection of themessage bubble 253, while in another embodiment it can resultautomatically if the app identifier in the metadata for the content isnot installed when the content for the message bubble 253 is received bythe communication device 250.

FIG. 6 will now be referred to in conjunction with FIGS. 5D, 5E, and 5Fto explain a method in one embodiment in which a receiving deviceprocesses content created by a remote extension app, such as the remoteextension app executing in conjunction with the messaging app oncommunication device 200. In operation 301, a communication device canreceive a message with content created by an extension app, such as aremote extension app operating in conjunction with a messaging app on asending device. In addition, the communication device can also receivethe metadata which can include a message bubble identifier, sessionidentifier and an extension app identifier and potentially other datasuch as an optional resource locator and other data (state information)that may be associated with the optional resource locator and theresource locator may also include state information that is encoded intothe resource locator. Further information with respect to the use ofresource locators and data associated with the resource locators will beprovided in conjunction with FIGS. 8, 9A, and 9B. Then in operation 303,the communication device which has received the message in operation 301processes the content and displays the content in a message bubble whichwas identified by the message bubble identifier, and the message bubbleis displayed within the message transcript. In one embodiment theprocessing of the content can include decrypting the content andrendering the content for presentation and display within the messagebubble. In one embodiment, the content is displayed by the messaging appwithout assistance from the extension app; in other words, the extensionapp may not be installed or if installed is not executing on thecommunication device, and hence the on-screen keyboard is displayed inone embodiment. Then in operation 305 the communication device receivesa selection of the message bubble displaying the content created by theremote extension app. In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 5D, the usercan tap on the message bubble on a touchscreen or otherwise select (e.g.user uses a stylus on a touchscreen or uses a mouse with a desktopcomputer, etc.) the message bubble 253 to cause the selection inoperation 305. In response to operation 305, the communication device,such as communication device 250 determines in operation 307 whether ornot the extension app is installed. This can be performed in oneembodiment by examining a list or registration of installed extensionapps maintained by the messaging app. In one embodiment, the metadatareceived in operation 301 includes the app identifier, and the messagingapp in operation 307 searches the list to determine whether theidentifier is present in the list. If the identifier is not present inthe list then the messaging app determines that the extension app is notinstalled, thereby causing the communication device to perform operation309 in which the notice 259, shown in FIG. 5F, can be displayed to theuser to offer to download and install the app specified by the appidentifier which was received as part of the metadata in operation 301.If the user selects the option “yes” then operation 311 is performed inwhich the messaging app causes the communication device to access theextension app marketplace (such as the extension app marketplace havinga user interface shown in FIG. 14B) to retrieve through a downloadprocess a copy of the extension app and to cause the extension app to beinstalled. In one embodiment, operation 311 may be performed entirely inthe background so that the messaging app remains the foreground appduring the download and install process. FIG. 9C shows an example of amessage bubble 471 maintained in a message transcript during thedownload and install process, where the message bubble includes aprogress bar 473 which indicates the progress of the download andinstall operation while the messaging app remains the foregroundapplication displaying the message bubble 471 in the message transcriptof the messaging app. In another embodiment of the operation 311, asheet that shows a page of information from an extension app marketplacecan be displayed over the messaging app (with a portion of the messagingapp optionally still displayed), and the sheet can show a “buy” orinstall or download button, which if selected, can cause the downloadand installation of the extension app, and the sheet can be dismissed(removed from display) either by selecting a dismiss command or byselecting buy or install or download. After downloading and installingthe extension app, processing can proceed to operation 313 in FIG. 6 inwhich the extension app is launched and the content and other data usedor created by the remote extension app is passed (via IPC) to theextension app by the messaging app, and the extension app is displayedin either a compact or expanded view in one embodiment and the contentcreated by the remote extension app is displayed within that view. Asshown in FIG. 6, operation 313 also follows operation 307 if operation307 determines that the extension app is installed. FIG. 5E shows oneexample of the result of operation 313.

In one embodiment, a messaging app can launch different types ofextension apps in different ways depending upon the type of theextension app. For example, one type of extension app can be launchedautomatically in response to receipt of a message bubble containingcontent from an extension app having a certain predetermined type. Otherextension apps having a different type may only be launched in oneembodiment in response to the selection of a message bubble containingcontent from that extension app or by the selection of an iconrepresenting the extension app in a browsable view, such as browsableview 571. It may be desirable to allow certain extension apps having acertain type to be launched automatically in response to receivingcontent that is displayed within the message transcript while notautomatically launching other types of extension apps. In anotheralternative embodiment, one or more extension apps can be permitted toexecute in the background and can be allowed to update their respectiveuser interfaces that are presented in their respective message bubbles.

In an alternative embodiment, the metadata can include a format orextension identifier such as an identifier of an image format that canbe used to determine available extension apps that can process thatimage format on the receiving device.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate another aspect of the embodiments describedherein in which the extension app can cause a view to be changed bysending communications to the messaging app to cause that change. In oneembodiment, an application programming interface (API) can be providedbetween the extension app and the messaging app to allow the extensionapp to make calls to that API to change its view within the messagingapp which hosts the view of the extension app. In one embodiment, anextension app can have at least two different views which can include acompact view and an expanded view. In one embodiment, the compact viewmay be a view which takes the place of the on-screen keyboard of themessaging app while the message transcript remains displayed in the userinterface of the messaging app. In the expanded view, the messagetranscript is no longer displayed and the on-screen keyboard is notdisplayed but certain other components of the user interface of themessaging app, such as text entry region 211 and a camera activationicon 235 are displayed. FIG. 7B shows an example of an expanded view inwhich the drawing canvas 215A occupies most of the space of the touchscreen. As shown in FIG. 7B, the compact view icon 223A can be selectedby the user to cause the system to change from the expanded view shownin FIG. 7B back to the compact view, such as the view shown in FIG. 5A.

The method shown in FIG. 7A is one embodiment showing how the view canchange, and it will be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, thesequence of operations may be performed in a different order and theremay be omitted steps or intervening steps or additional steps.

In operation 351 of FIG. 7A, the extension app is displayed by themessaging app with a particular view or style. In operation 353, theextension app can make a call to the messaging app to get the currentpresentation view/style of the extension app. In operation 357, themessaging app can provide a return for the call from operation 353, andthat return can indicate the current presentation view/style of theextension app. In response to that current presentation received inoperation 357, the extension app can request a change in thepresentation view/style by providing a call to the messaging app tocause that change to occur, and that call is received in operation 361.The messaging app in one embodiment can initially respond to this callwith an acknowledgement that the view is being changed or will bechanged. In response to the call, in operation 363, the messaging appchanges the presentation style/view and displays the extension appwithin the requested view presentation view/style and in operation 365the messaging app informs the extension app that the change of view hasbeen completed. Referring back to FIG. 7B, if the user selects thecompact view icon 223A, this can cause a call from the extension app tothe messaging app to change the view of the extension app within theuser interface of the messaging app.

FIGS. 8, 9A, 9B, and 9C will now be described relative to another aspectof the embodiments presented herein. In one aspect of this embodiment,an extension app and a counterpart extension app on another device canengage in a communication session and exchange information back andforth in their communication session, and all of this occurs within thecontext of a message transcript maintained by the two messaging appswhich interface between the two extension apps as shown in FIG. 8. Inone embodiment, plug-ins for a messaging app can also operate in asimilar way and exchange information between the physics through twomessaging apps that are in a session. The messaging system 400 shown inFIG. 8 includes at least two clients devices, client device 401 andclient device 405 and also includes a set of one or more messagingservers 403. The client devices 401 and 405 can be similar to the clientdevices 53 and 54 in FIG. 2, and the set of one or more messagingservers 403 can be similar to the set of messaging servers 51 shown inFIG. 2. Each client device can include an installed copy of a particularextension app (such as, for example, an extension app for makingreservations at restaurants), and the extension app on each device canbe used to create content (e.g. text, images, audio, video, etc.), andthis content is passed, through an interprocess communication frameworkto the messaging app on the device for a specific message, which can bereferred to as a message bubble, in the message transcript on theparticular client device. The message app receives the content (andoptionally other data from the extension app, including for example anidentifier of the extension app, a resource locator and optionallymetadata for use by a counterpart or remote extension app on the otherdevice, etc.) and displays the displayable content (such as an image ofa restaurant provided by the extension app which is a restaurantreservation app such as “Open Table” in the message bubble in themessage transcript). In effect, the messaging app hosts a view withinthe messaging app and the content of that view is provided by theextension app. The resource locator and metadata in one embodiment areopaque to the messaging app (e.g. cannot be recognized by the messagingapp) but can be used by the extension apps on each device to maintainstate information for the session between the extension apps, and themessaging apps on each device act as a communication mechanism betweenthe extension apps by passing the resource locator and metadata betweenthe extension apps. In one embodiment, state information about thesession may be encoded in the resource locator or may be provided in themetadata or may in both. In one embodiment, the content created from asession on each device is displayed within the same single messagebubble (identified by a session identifier that can be maintained by themessaging app) in the message transcripts, and each time the contentchanges (based on changes from either device), the updated contentcontinues to be displayed within a single message bubble in the messagetranscript and any prior message bubbles that displayed content in thesession can be converted into breadcrumbs, and these prior messagebubbles will also include the same session identifier as the new,updated message bubble. The operations and functions of the componentsshown in FIG. 8 will now be described while referring to FIG. 9A whichshows a method of operating the messaging system 400 in one embodiment.

In operation 451 of FIG. 9A an extension app, such as the extension app407 can create content and generate a resource locator and data (or canmodify existing content, resource locator or data). The extension appcan be similar to the extension app 83 and is executing in oneembodiment in one process while the messaging app, which can be similarto the messaging app 76, is executing in another process andcommunication between the processes occurs through an IPC, such as theIPC 81 which can be a software framework or library for providinginterprocess communication between two distinct processes. The extensionapp 407 can be, for example, a restaurant reservation app that creates areservation through a website that can provide a state information foruse with the resource locator (or the state information can be encodedinto the resource locator). In one embodiment, the data provided withthe resource locator can be a state information provided from thewebsite, and the state information can include information about theparticular restaurant and the time of the reservation and the number ofpeople in the reservation. The extension app 407 can present, in eithera compact view or expanded view the user interface for making therestaurant reservation through the website while the remainder of themessaging app is displayed, including for example the messagetranscript. Thus the user of the extension app 407 can see the contextof the conversation in the message transcript while interacting with theextension app and the website (through the extension app) to create arestaurant reservation. In one embodiment, the user may be able tobrowse through various restaurants (within the restaurant reservationapp) and search for restaurants. After the user of the extension app 407has selected a restaurant and entered a reservation, the extension app407 can pass, through the IPC 415, content and also the resource locatorand data 417 shown in FIG. 8 for the messaging app on device 401. Thisis shown as operation 453 in FIG. 9A. In operation 455, the messagingapp 409 associates the content received from the extension app 407 withthe message bubble and displays content in the bubble in the messagetranscript in the user interface of the messaging app 409. Then inoperation 457, the messaging app 409, in response to a send commandreceived from the user, sends a message (if any) and content receivedfrom the extension app 407, and an app identifier which identifies theapp 407 (and optionally an icon of the app 407), and the resourcelocator and the data (if any) and a session identifier to the seconddevice through the one or more messaging servers 403 which pass thecommunication 419 to the second device 405 (also referred to as clientdevice 405). In one embodiment, the operations 453 and 455 can occur aspart of operation 457 in response to the messaging app receiving theselection of the send command. The icon of the app 407 can be displayedon the message bubble on the receiving device even if the counterpartextension app is not installed; see for example, icon 87 in FIG. 3B. Inoperation 459 shown in FIG. 9A, the messaging app 411 on the clientdevice 405 receives the content from the one or more messaging servers403 and displays the content in the identified message bubble 421 withinthe message transcript provided by the user interface of the messagingapp 411. FIG. 9B shows a more detailed example of such a message bubble471 having content created by a restaurant reservation extension app inone embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 9B, the content includesthe name of the restaurant, the time of the reservation and the numberof persons of the reservation. In one embodiment, this content can bedisplayed by the messaging app without requiring that the extension app413 be launched. In one embodiment, the extension app 413 is notlaunched until the user of client device 405 selects the message bubble421, thereby indicating to the client device that the user of the clientdevice 405 intends to interact with the content in the message bubble421. In an alternative embodiment, the extension app 413 can be launchedupon receipt by the messaging app 411 of the content but remain in thebackground and be ready for execution when the user of client device 405enters a command to cause the extension app to appear. In operation 461,the extension app 413, which is identified by the app identifierprovided in the communication 419 is launched, if not already launched,in response to selection of message bubble 421 and the messaging app 411passes, through IPC 423 the content associated with message bubble 421and resource locator and data 425 to the messaging app 413. In oneembodiment, the extension app 413 is the counterpart extension app thatis the same extension app as extension app 407, while in anotherembodiment they can be merely compatible in that they can process thesame type of content.

At this point, the extension app 413 can receive user input by the userof client device 405 and can modify one or more of the content, theresource locator or the data. For example, the user of client device 405can cause the extension app 413 to access one or more websites to make amodified restaurant reservation by modifying the time, the number ofpeople, the particular restaurant, etc. In one embodiment, the extensionapp 413, and also the extension app 407 can interact directly (butseparately and independently) with the web server by sending theresource locator and the data to the web server and receiving responsesfrom the web server which may include modified data or modified resourcelocators, or new data and/or new resource locators etc. In oneembodiment, the web server can store data for use during the session,and this stored data can include information for some or all of thestate information that can also be maintained by the two extension appsin the session. Again, if the extension app 413 is presented for displayin a compact view, then the user of the device 405 can interact with theextension app 413 to make the restaurant reservation while the contextand conversation of the chat or messaging session is shown in themessage transcript of the messaging app 411. The user of the clientdevice 405 can scroll through the message transcript while continuing tolook at and interact with the extension app 413. Thus, the extension app413 can, in operation 463 receive user input and may modify at least oneof the content, the resource locator or data, and then can pass, inoperation 465 the resource locator and data 427 (which may be modifiedor new) to the messaging app 411. In turn, the messaging app 411 inoperation 467 can send the content, which may be modified, and the appidentifier and the resource locator (which may be modified) and data(which may be modified) and the bubble ID back to the client device 401.As shown in operation 469, this process can repeat over time as the twousers work on setting up a restaurant reservation in the exampleprovided herein.

It will be appreciated that many different types of extension apps canprovide a collaborative environment between the users of client devices401 and 405 to exchange information and collaborate together and thatrestaurant reservation is one such type. Thus, it will be appreciatedthat the restaurant reservation example that is described relative toFIGS. 8 and 9A is merely an example of one such type of extension appwhich can provide a collaborative environment in the context of the userinterface of a messaging app. Examples of other types of extension appswhich can provide a similar collaborative environment include, forexample: sticker extension apps; imaging apps; drawing apps; contentcreation apps; games; music creation apps; content consumption apps;polling apps; map apps; etc.

The collaborative environment shown in FIG. 8 and described relative toFIG. 9A can utilize breadcrumbs in one or more embodiments, and each ofthe breadcrumbs can be identified by a session identifier. A breadcrumbrepresents a converted message bubble and is identified by a sessionidentifier that is shared with other message bubbles in the session.Each prior message bubble that is identified with the same sessionidentifier as a new message bubble can be converted in one embodimentinto a breadcrumb which can appear differently than the original contentshown in the message transcript. As each new message bubble in thesession arrives or is added to the message transcript, the prior messagebubble identified with the same session identifier can be converted intoa breadcrumb in one embodiment, and this is shown in the messagetranscripts shown in FIGS. 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, and 911. FIGS. 9D and 911show a message transcript 510 on Joe's device, and FIGS. 9E, 9F, and 9Gshow a message transcript 17 on Lester's device. Message transcript 510shows Lester's user name 511, and message transcript 517 shows Joe'suser name 518. In the example shown in FIGS. 9D, 9E, 9F, 9G, and 911,Lester and Joe are engaged in a text messaging conversation and are eachusing an extension app, such as an image creation app or other extensionapps. For example, Lester can be using extension app 407 shown in FIG. 8and Joe can be using extension app 413 shown in FIG. 8. Lester's devicecan be using messaging app 409 while Joe's device can be using messagingapp 411. Referring back to FIG. 9D, it can be seen that the messagetranscript 510 includes message bubble 512 and message bubble 513 whichindicate the content of the conversation within the message transcript510. In addition, Joe has used the extension app 413 to create content515 which is appended to message bubble 514. For example, Joe may haveentered text as a text message and also created content using theextension app 413 and then cause both the text shown within messagebubble 514 and the content 515 to be sent to Lester's device. The rightside of the message transcript 510 shows messages that were sent by Joewhile the left side of the message transcript 510 shows messages thatwere received from Lester. Referring now to FIG. 9E, it can be seen thatmessage bubble 513 is now on the right side of the message transcript517 while message bubble 514 and content 515 are on the left side of themessage transcript 517 on Lester's device. Hence, Lester's device hasreceived the text message within message bubble 514 and has alsoreceived the content generated by the extension app on Joe's device.Lester can then tap on the content 515 to cause the launching of thecorresponding or counterpart extension app on Lester's device. Thecontent 515 is associated with a session identifier which is maintainedfor the extension app on Lester's device. For example, at this point inthe process, operation 461 shown in FIG. 9A can be performed on Lester'sdevice as a result of the user selecting the content 515 which can bedisplayed within a message bubble in one embodiment. Lester can then usethe extension app on Lester's device to create modified content or newcontent and send that modified or new content back to Joe. In FIG. 9F,it can be seen that Lester has created modified or new content 521 whichis shown within a staging area 519 which shows text and other contentthat is ready to be sent and will be sent in response to selection by auser of a send command, such as the send button 523 shown in FIG. 9F.When Lester selects the send command with the content shown in thestaging area 519, this causes the text message 520 and the new ormodified content 521 to be sent to Joe, and this can be seen in FIG. 9Gin which message bubble 521A shows the text message 520 on the rightside of the message transcript 517 which also shows the content 521which was modified or created as new by Lester using the extension app407 on Lester's device.

It can be seen from FIG. 9G that content 515 has now been converted intoa breadcrumb 515A. This conversion in one embodiment can be performed bythe messaging app or alternatively by the extension app. In oneembodiment, the extension app can provide the text which appears withinthe breadcrumb 515A, and the messaging app will use the sessionidentifier to identify the message bubble that will be converted into abreadcrumb and this will cause the conversion of content 515 into thebreadcrumb 515A and display the breadcrumb next to the associatedmessage bubble 514 without converting that message bubble 514 into abreadcrumb in one embodiment. Thus, FIG. 9G shows how a sessionidentifier associated with prior message bubbles or content created byan extension app can be used to convert the prior message bubble(s) intoa breadcrumb on a sending device. FIG. 911 shows how the conversion isdisplayed in one embodiment on the receiving device. In the figure shownin FIG. 911, the message bubble 520A is shown on the left side of themessage transcript 510 along with the new or modified content fromextension app 407 from Lester's device. The content 515 on Joe's devicehas been converted into a breadcrumb 515A on the right side of themessage transcript and is displayed adjacent to the message bubble 514which accompanied the content 515 when the content 515 was originallysent.

If the receiving device, such as client device 405 in operation 459 iscapable of installing and using the extension app (identified by the appidentifier provided in communication 419) but that the extension app isnot installed on the receiving device, the receiving device can, withinthe user interface of the messaging app offer to download and installthe extension app (again specified by the app identifier incommunication 419, on the receiving device). FIG. 9C shows an example inwhich the content from extension 407 can be displayed on the clientdevice 405 in a message bubble 471 and the client device 405 is in theprocess of downloading and installing the extension app identified bythe app identifier in communication 419. In the example shown in FIG.9C, the content is displayed within the message bubble 471 while theextension app 413 is being installed. In one embodiment, a progress bar473 (or alternatively a progress circle) can be shown within the messagebubble 471 during the installation process. In one embodiment, thedownloading and installation process can be performed in the backgroundwhile the messaging app remains the foreground application. If thereceiving device is not capable of installing or using the extensionapp, then the resource locator and the metadata can be passed in oneembodiment to a web browser on the receiving device, and the web browsercan become the foreground app and allow for the user interaction withthe web page referred to by the resource locator.

In some embodiments, it may be desirable to provide an identifier ofeach user to each extension app executing on a client device,particularly in the case of a collaborative environment in which two ormore users are interacting through the messaging apps and the extensionapps. FIG. 10 shows an example of a method to provide an identifier foreach extension app without causing a loss of the user's privacy. Themethod shown in FIG. 10 can be performed by each messaging app on eachclient device. In one embodiment, the method can be performed inresponse to a call from an extension app to an application programminginterface (API) which can allow the extension app to request anidentifier of the local user. In one embodiment, the identifier can bethe local user's email address or phone number or other identifier usedby the messaging system. The identifier provided to the extension app isan obfuscated identifier created, in one embodiment, by the method shownin FIG. 10. In operation 501, the messaging app can generate, inresponse to a call from the extension app, a salt for the particularextension app. In one embodiment, the salt can be a random number whichis associated with that particular extension app. Then in operation 503,the messaging app can generate a hash (such as a SHA-1 hash) of acombination of a user or device identifier and the salt. For example,the user identifier may be the phone number or email address of the userand that phone number or email address is combined with the salt andthen the hash is created for that combination in operation 503. Then inoperation 505, the hash is provided, through the IPC, to the extensionapp, and that hash value can be used as data with the resource locatorwhich can then be sent to the other extension app to identify the userthat has made changes or has created a content. In another embodiment,the messaging app can obfuscate the identifier by maintaining a mappingof the identifier and a randomly generated unique identifier for eachextension app. In other words, for a given extension app, the messagingapp can generate a random (and unique) identifier for the extension appand associate (e.g., map) that random identifier with the identifier ofthe user (e.g. local user's email address or phone number or otheridentifier used by the messaging system). This random identifier for thegiven extension app can be provided to the extension app, but theidentifier is not provided to the extension app. Another extension appwould receive a different, randomly generated identifier. This extensionapp specific identifier can then be provided to a counterpart extensionapp on another device so that the two extension apps can keep track ofwhich users performed which actions in the context of a session or othercollaborative environment.

In one embodiment, the messaging systems described herein can provideconfirmation of receipt of messages to one or more extension apps, andthis may be useful in certain cases in which the extension app needs tobe assured that the remote extension app has the same known state as thelocal extension app. FIG. 11 shows an example of a method for providingconfirmation of receipt. In operation 551, the messaging app receivesthe “send” command from a user and in response the local extension appprovides the content to the messaging app. In turn, in operation 553,the messaging app sends the message and message bubble identifier andcontent and resource locator (if any) through the one or more messagingservers to a receiving device which also includes a message app. At somepoint, the messaging app on the local device in operation 555 receives aconfirmation of receipt of the message and content and optional resourcelocator, and then can pass, in operation 557, through the IPC theconfirmation of receipt to the local extension app so that the localextension app knows that the remote extension app has the same knownstate when the extension app provided its content for transmission tothe remote extension app.

FIG. 12 shows another aspect to the embodiments described herein, andthat aspect relates to the presentation of multiple message bubbleswithin a message transcript where different message bubbles have contentcreated by different extension apps, and at least one of which may beexecuting (and have its content displayed in a compact view) while themessage transcript of the user interface of the messaging app is alsodisplayed. FIG. 12 shows an example of such an aspect. The communicationdevice 600 in this embodiment includes a touch screen 601 which displaysa message transcript 603 which includes two message bubbles 605 and 607.In addition, the messaging app presents a compact view 609 of anextension app, which in this case is an extension app for a restaurantreservation. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the extension app for arestaurant reservation has been used to send a message showing thecontent of a restaurant reservation, which is depicted as message bubble607. This may have occurred as a result of receiving a message fromanother user who uses another communication device which provides thecontent of a restaurant review from another extension app. In theexample shown in FIG. 12, message bubble 605 shows the content createdby a remote extension app for providing restaurant reviews which isdifferent than the extension app for making a restaurant reservation. Inone embodiment, both extension apps may be executing on bothcommunication devices that are part of the messaging session or chat.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to backwardcompatibility, and that aspect is shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. Certainolder devices may not be compatible with the extension app architecturedescribed herein or may not use this architecture or may not even besmartphones. In one embodiment, a client device which is sending themessage may be able to provide alternative content, either automaticallyor based upon a determination that the receiving device is notcompatible with extension app. A method for providing backwardcompatibility is shown in FIG. 13A. In operation 651, an extension appon a sending device creates content on the sending device (first device)for delivery to a second device through a messaging app and a messagingservice. This can be similar to operation 451 in FIG. 9A. The contentcreated in operation 651 can then be passed through an interprocesscommunication to the messaging app in operation 653 in response to themessaging app receiving the user's “send” selection. Then in operation655, the messaging app can display the content on the first device andalso determine that the second device is not compatible with extensionapps. In one embodiment, this can be determined as a result of receivinginformation about the receiving device (second device) from one or moremessaging servers, such as the one or more messaging servers 51 shown inFIG. 2 which can maintain information about the state of each device,such as the version of the operating system of the device or the type ofdevice, etc. As a result of determining that the second device is notcompatible with extension apps, the messaging app can in operation 657send alternative content to the second device, and FIG. 13B provides anexample of this alternative content.

The communication device 675 shown in FIG. 13B may be, for example, anolder smartphone which uses an older operating system that is notcompatible with extension apps described herein. Nevertheless, thecommunication device 675 includes a touch screen 679 and a text entryregion 683 and an on-screen keyboard 685 that provide functionality of amessaging app which also displays a message transcript 681 whichincludes a message bubble 687. The message bubble 687 contains thealternative content provided by a sending message app on a remotedevice. In this case the content includes an image 689 and a resourcelocator 691 which may be user selectable to cause the display of a webpage which the resource locator 691 refers to. In other words, theresource locator 691 may be user selectable to invoke a web browser onthe communication device 675 to allow the user of the communicationdevice 675 to interact through a web browser with the web page which mayhave the same affect in certain instances as an extension appinteracting with the website.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to a service,such as an app marketplace that can provide a plurality of differentextension apps for use within a messaging app according to the one ormore embodiments described herein. The service or app marketplace canpresent browsable views of the plurality of different extension apps andmessaging app plug-ins and provide information about those variousextension apps and provide for downloading of those extension apps to aclient device to allow the client device to install one or moreextension apps. FIG. 14A shows an example of a method for using such aservice or app marketplace and FIG. 14B shows an example of a userinterface for a messaging extension app marketplace. The app marketplaceshown in FIG. 14B may be invoked in one embodiment from a browsable viewof installed extension apps within the user interface of the messagingapp on a client device. For example, the selection of icon 167 shown inFIG. 4B may cause the presentation of the messaging extension appmarketplace shown in FIG. 14B. The user can then browse through the oneor more collections of messaging extension apps and select one or moreextension apps which may be free or may be purchased. In the exampleshown in FIG. 14B, the messaging extension app marketplace 725 caninclude a navigation bar 729 and a browsable view of one or moremessaging extension apps, such as apps 726, 728, and 731 displayed onthe touch screen 727. The user can browse through the apps by swiping,in one embodiment, the user's finger across the touch screen or by theuse of a navigation bar 729. The user can then select the download andinstall one or more of the extension apps, and as a result the messagingapp on the user's client device can add an icon representing the newlyinstalled extension app into the browsable view of installed extensionapps, such as the browsable view 157 shown in FIG. 4B. In addition, themessaging app can add the installed extension app into a list ofinstalled extension apps along with the identifier of the app (“appidentifier”) provided by the app marketplace. While the user's use ofthe app marketplace shown in FIG. 14B is one way of installing extensionapps, another way is shown in FIG. 14A in which the installation processbegins as a result of the user interacting with a message in the messagetranscript of a messaging app.

Referring now to FIG. 14A, a messaging app in operation 701 can receivecontent (and an optional resource locator and data) created by anextension app on a remote device, such as a first device, and can alsoreceive an app identifier of the extension app on the remote device. Inone embodiment, the app identifier can be the same identifier providedby the app marketplace when the extension app was installed on the firstdevice or can be a different identifier that is associated with the appstore's identifier. Then in operation 703, the messaging app on thesecond device can display the content in a message bubble and can retainthe resource locator and data if provided. At this point, the messagingapp in this embodiment does not attempt to launch an extension app whichin fact is not installed on the second device at this point in time.Then in operation 705, the messaging app receives a selection, such as atap, of the message bubble containing the content provided by theextension app from the first device, and the messaging app determinesthat the extension app (as identified by the received app identifier) isnot installed on the second device. At this point, as shown in operation707 of FIG. 14A, the messaging app offers to download and install theextension app on the second device and the user can select to installthat extension app which was identified by the app identifier receivedin operation 701. In some instances, the user may need to purchase theextension app before it can be downloaded and installed. The offer todownload and install may be presented in a notice, such as the notice259 shown in FIG. 5F, and this notice may include a selectable option tocause the downloading and the installing of the extension app for theselected message bubble. Then in operation 709, the second devicedownloads and installs the extension app and can launch the newlyinstalled extension app. In one embodiment, the download and install canoccur in the background while the messaging app remains the foreground.In one embodiment, the progress of the download and install can be shownin a progress bar, such as the progress bar 473 shown within theselected message bubble. After operation 709 is completed, then thenewly installed extension app can be used on the second device and, themessaging app can provide, in operation 711, the content and optionalresource locator and data to the extension app on the second devicewithin the view hosted by messaging app.

In one embodiment, the messaging app may cause the automatic updating ofextension apps which have been installed. In another embodiment, themessaging app may provide alerts or notices to the user that certainextension apps are in need of being updated and the notifications aboutthese updates can be received from an extension app marketplace in oneembodiment. This can allow a user to selectively decide whether or notto update specific messaging apps.

Another aspect of the embodiments described herein relate to pollingextension apps, and FIGS. 15, 16A, 16B, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and23A-23M illustrate examples of this aspect. Polling extension apps areapps that run as extensions (or plug-ins) for a messaging app, such asmessaging app 76, shown in FIG. 3A, to provide polling data to themessaging app that are associated with a message bubble 421 in a messagetranscript of the messaging app. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.15, polling extension apps 1507 and 1513 store and retrieve pollingrecords in an on-line cloud storage 1529. One of skill will immediatelyunderstand that cloud storage is typically managed by a server and sosuch a server is not illustrated. Alternate embodiments can operate inan off-line environment as described below.

In one embodiment, the polling data, or context 1600 is sent to themessaging app by the polling extension apps 1507 and 1513. An example ofthis polling data or context 1600 is illustrated in FIG. 16A and canconsist of a poll question field 1601, answer option fields 1603, a URLfield 1605 for the corresponding polling record in the cloud storage1529, and user information fields 1607, which includes a user identifierfield 1609, such as a user's name, for each of the users selected forthe poll and a vote field 1611 for each of the users selected for thepoll. The vote field 1611 will subsequently contain data that uniquelyidentifies the answer option selected by the corresponding user. In oneembodiment, there can be multiple instances of the user informationfields 1607 with one instance for each user selected for the poll; thusfor reach user there can be a user ID field 1609 and a user vote field1611. A polling record 1620 stored in the cloud storage 1529 in oneembodiment is illustrated in FIG. 16B and consists of a user identifierfield 1621 and a vote field 1623 for each of the selected users.Typically, the vote field 1623 contains the same identifying data asvote field 1611 but one of skill can readily conceive of alternate waysof correlating the data in vote fields 1611 and 1623. If the user hasnot yet voted, the vote field 1623 is null or otherwise indicates thatthe user has not yet voted. The user identifier field 1621 may includean image, such as a selfie or another image selected by the user and/orthe user's identifier as in user name field 1609. In one embodiment, theinformation in the vote field 1623 and user identifier field information1621 is encrypted. Each cloud polling record 1620 is time-stamped withtimestamp 1625 for purposes described later.

Turning now to FIG. 17, one embodiment of a process to be executed by apolling extension app, such as polling extension app 1507, to create apoll is described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 21. The user selects anicon 1811 corresponding to the polling extension app as shown in userinterface screen 1801, which causes the messaging app to launch thepolling extension app. The polling extension app presents a series ofuser interface screens 1803-1809 through which the user inputs thequestion and answer options for the poll (block 1701). In oneembodiment, the polling extension app 1507 can present, in the viewprovided by messaging app 409, user interface options such as suggestedpolls or recent polls, etc. Asynchronously with the presentation of theuser interface screens, the create poll process causes a polling record1620 to be created on cloud storage 1529 (as shown in process 1703 inFIG. 17). Once the user indicates the poll creation is complete, such asby activating a “done” button as shown on user interface screen 1809,the create poll process sends the polling context to the messaging app(block 1705) and waits for results from the other users in the poll.Completion criteria can include when all selected users have voted orafter a defined time period has expired, or alternate criteria whichwill be readily appreciated by one of skill in the art. If the userelects to cancel the poll creation (block 1707), the polling record1620, if already created, can be deleted (block 1713) and the local pollcontext can also be deleted. Otherwise, the messaging app will send thepolling context in messages to the selected users through one or moremessaging servers 1509 in block 1709 and will present a view of the userinterface of the polling extension app which shows the results of thepoll in the user interface of the polling extension app. In block 1711,the results are retrieved from the cloud storage 1529 and are merged andsynchronized and displayed on user interface screen 2101 as shown inFIG. 21. The poll results from cloud storage 1529 are merged andsynchronized with poll results received through messages transmittedthrough one or more messaging servers 1509 in one embodiment so thateach user can have poll results from both sources; a merger andsynchronization strategy can use a rule that selects the most currentpoll data as the correct poll data and displays that poll data in theresults. Another merger and synchronization strategy can use a rule thatanother user's poll results received through the messaging servers 1509are treated as truth for that user and poll results for that user fromcloud storage are ignored. One of skill in the art will also recognizethat other merger and synchronization strategies that are known in theart can be used to synchronize and merge poll results from messagestransmitted through the one or more messaging servers 509 and from thecloud storage 1529. In one embodiment, each messaging app on each userdevice can be configured to transmit all votes collected by a pollingextension app (from the local user and remote users) as messages throughthe messaging server(s) 1509 and also upload all votes to the cloudstorage 1529; in an alternative embodiment, each messaging app on eachuser device can be configured to transmit all votes collected (both fromthe local user and remote users) as messages through the messagingserver(s) 1509, and each polling extension app is configured to uploadall votes collected to cloud storage 1529. The create poll process mayalso present user interface screen 2103 to allow the poll originator tocreate a new poll. It will be appreciated that if the polling record1620 cannot be created (block 1715), the poll can be cancelled or anoff-line poll process (which does not use the cloud storage 1529) can beperformed instead (block 1717) as described below.

FIG. 19 illustrates a receive poll process to be executed by the pollingextension app for each of the selected users, and is described inconjunction with FIG. 20. The messaging app on the selected user'sdevice launches, in one embodiment, the polling extension app when themessaging app receives a selection of a message containing a poll (e.g.,the user of the device selects the message in the messaging app). Thereceive poll process retrieves the polling context from the message app(block 1901) and determines if the user has already voted (block 1903).This determination can be made by checking the vote field 1611 for theuser in the polling context or using locally stored vote data asdescribed later. If the user has not yet voted, in one embodiment a userinterface screen 2001 containing the question and the answer options isdisplayed. In one embodiment, once the user has selected one of theanswer options, the vote is not cast until the user takes a selfie orotherwise selects an image to represent the user as illustrated in userinterface screen 2003. After the receive poll process receives theuser's vote (block 1905), it updates the context and provides theupdated context to the messaging app (by transferring the vote from thepolling extension app to the messaging app through the IPC) for deliveryto each of the selected users and the originator of the poll (block1907). Asynchronously with updating the context, the receive pollprocess causes the polling record 1620, including the timestamp 1619, tobe updated (block 1913) by uploading the poll results to the cloudstorage 1529. The receive poll process displays the updated context inuser interface screen 2005 (block 1909) and can also refresh the display(block 1911) with voting data retrieved asynchronously from the pollingrecord 1620, such as when the information in the polling record (fromcloud storage 1529) is more current than the context based on thetimestamp 1619. It will be appreciated that an error (block 1915) whenupdating the polling record can be handled in various ways, such asdisplaying an error message and/or switching to an off-line poll (block1917). If the user has already voted (block 1903), the receive pollprocess can display the voting data (block 1919) from the pollingcontext in the message and can retrieve data from cloud storage 1529 andcan merge and synchronize the two sets of data using a merger strategyas described herein.

In an alternate embodiment, the receive poll process can also store andtimestamp the user's vote locally at block 1907. The voting data fromthe context in the message and the polling record 1620 (from cloudstorage 1529) is merged with the locally stored vote and displayed atblock 1911. The locally stored data and/or the polling records can beexpired based on timestamps and expired records can be subsequentlydeleted.

FIG. 22 shows an alternative embodiment of a poll which uses imagescaptured by a camera (or through a copy and paste technique or throughother techniques). The images can be captured by one or more cameras ona device such as the first device (in FIG. 15) that includes the pollingextension app 1507 and the messaging app 409. For example, a poll 2200,shown in FIG. 22, to survey users about different shoes can involve auser who photographs several shoes (using a camera on the user's device)and asks the other users to select one of the shoes in the poll 2200 bydisplaying the captured images (such as images 2203 and 2205) under aheading “pick your favorite” 2201. The images, in one embodiment, can becaptured using a camera on the user's device while the user is in theprocess of creating the poll on the device using a polling extension appon the device, such as polling extension app 1507. Hence, in this case,the user of the device has selected “start a poll” and then can use thedevice's one or more cameras to capture images (e.g. take photographs orvideos, etc.) and then add any desired text (e.g. “pick one”) and thensend the poll (containing the captured images) to selected users, suchas a group of users in a current message transcript or a group of usersin a set of favorites of messaging recipients, etc. When the recipientsselect the message containing the poll, the polling extension app on therecipient's device displays the poll and shows the captured images inthe polling extension app within the view provided by the messaging appon the recipient's device.

FIGS. 23A-23M show another embodiment of user interfaces of a pollingextension app, such as polling extension app 1507, which are presentedthrough a view provided by a messaging app such as messaging app 409. InFIG. 23A, a user has selected the polling extension app (e.g., the userhas selected the polling extension app from a view such as view 157) andthe polling extension app has been launched and displays a “start apoll” button in the compact view provided by the messaging app. In oneembodiment, the start-up user interface of the polling extension app candisplay a set of suggested or recent poll questions or both; this isshown in the expanded view of the polling extension app in FIGS. 23B and23C. In FIG. 23D, the user interface has transitioned to a poll questionentry phase after the user has selected the “start a poll” button (e.g.by tapping on the button in any one of the user interfaces shown inFIGS. 23A-23C). In FIGS. 23E, 23F, 23G, and 2311, the user has entered aquestion and three possible answers in the poll; a user can addadditional possible answers by selecting the plus (“+”) icon shown inFIGS. 23G and 2311. FIG. 231 shows that the user can select “Done” tofinish creation of the poll or select the color picker icon that ispositioned to the right of the “Done” button, and FIG. 23J shows the rowof color options for the color picker for the poll (between theon-screen keyboard and the answers in the poll). The user can select acolor, in one embodiment, for all options/answers in the poll or canselect different colors for the different options/answers in the poll.FIG. 23K shows that the user has selected a color from the color pickershown in FIG. 23J, and the color of the poll and the background haschanged as a result of the user's selection. FIGS. 23L and 23M shows apoll after it is created and sent; FIG. 23L shows the poll before votesare received while FIG. 23M shows the poll after votes have beenreceived.

When the polling extension app operates in an off-line environment inone embodiment, the polling record 1620 is not used and cloud storage1529 is not used and the polling context in the most recent messagecontains the current state of the poll. In this case, in one embodimenteach user is not required to store their vote locally. However, if twousers vote simultaneously, the messages sent by their messaging appswill not contain the other's vote. In one embodiment, when the pollingextension app for one of the simultaneously voting users detects thissituation, it will send a refresh results message (through its messagingapp) to cause all the other polling extension apps to review all theincoming messages to update the context. In yet another embodiment, if apolling extension app receives two consecutive messages and the votes inthe later message does not include all the votes in the earlier message,that polling extension app will send the refresh message through itsmessaging app. The two refresh message embodiments can be usedseparately, or the former refresh message embodiment can be designatedas the default with the latter embodiment being invoked if the former isnot triggered after a pre-determined time threshold. In eitherembodiment, because multiple polling extension apps can detect thesituation, the polling extension apps can rely on pre-determinedcriteria, such as a user identifier or time passed since the lastmessage, to determine if it should send the refresh message.

One or more Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) may be used insome embodiments. An API is an interface implemented by a program codecomponent or hardware component (hereinafter “API-implementingcomponent”) that allows a different program code component or hardwarecomponent (hereinafter “API-calling component”) to access and use one ormore functions, methods, procedures, data structures, classes, and/orother services provided by the API-implementing component. An API candefine one or more parameters that are passed between the API-callingcomponent and the API-implementing component.

An API allows a developer of an API-calling component (which may be athird party developer) to leverage specified features provided by anAPI-implementing component. There may be one API-calling component orthere may be more than one such component. An API can be a source codeinterface that a computer system or program library provides in order tosupport requests for services from an application. An operating system(OS) can have multiple APIs to allow applications running on the OS tocall one or more of those APIs, and a service (such as a programlibrary) can have multiple APIs to allow an application that uses theservice to call one or more of those APIs. An API can be specified interms of a programming language that can be interpreted or compiled whenan application is built.

In some embodiments the API-implementing component may provide more thanone API, each providing a different view of or with different aspectsthat access different aspects of the functionality implemented by theAPI-implementing component. For example, one API of an API-implementingcomponent can provide a first set of functions and can be exposed tothird party developers, and another API of the API-implementingcomponent can be hidden (not exposed) and provide a subset of the firstset of functions and also provide another set of functions, such astesting or debugging functions which are not in the first set offunctions. In other embodiments the API-implementing component mayitself call one or more other components via an underlying API and thusbe both an API-calling component and an API-implementing component.

An API defines the language and parameters that API-calling componentsuse when accessing and using specified features of the API-implementingcomponent. For example, an API-calling component accesses the specifiedfeatures of the API-implementing component through one or more API callsor invocations (embodied for example by function or method calls)exposed by the API and passes data and control information usingparameters via the API calls or invocations. The API-implementingcomponent may return a value through the API in response to an API callfrom an API-calling component. While the API defines the syntax andresult of an API call (e.g., how to invoke the API call and what the APIcall does), the API may not reveal how the API call accomplishes thefunction specified by the API call. Various API calls are transferredvia the one or more application programming interfaces between thecalling (API-calling component) and an API-implementing component.Transferring the API calls may include issuing, initiating, invoking,calling, receiving, returning, or responding to the function calls ormessages; in other words, transferring can describe actions by either ofthe API-calling component or the API-implementing component. Thefunction calls or other invocations of the API may send or receive oneor more parameters through a parameter list or other structure. Aparameter can be a constant, key, data structure, object, object class,variable, data type, pointer, array, list or a pointer to a function ormethod or another way to reference a data or other item to be passed viathe API.

Furthermore, data types or classes may be provided by the API andimplemented by the API-implementing component. Thus, the API-callingcomponent may declare variables, use pointers to, use or instantiateconstant values of such types or classes by using definitions providedin the API.

Generally, an API can be used to access a service or data provided bythe API-implementing component or to initiate performance of anoperation or computation provided by the API-implementing component. Byway of example, the API-implementing component and the API-callingcomponent may each be any one of an operating system, a library, adevice driver, an API, an application program, or other module (itshould be understood that the API-implementing component and theAPI-calling component may be the same or different type of module fromeach other). API-implementing components may in some cases be embodiedat least in part in firmware, microcode, or other hardware logic. Insome embodiments, an API may allow a client program (e.g., game centerapplication) to use the services provided by a Software Development Kit(SDK) library. In other embodiments an application or other clientprogram may use an API provided by an Application Framework. In theseembodiments the application or client program may incorporate calls tofunctions or methods provided by the SDK and provided by the API or usedata types or objects defined in the SDK and provided by the API. AnApplication Framework may in these embodiments provide a main event loopfor a program that responds to various events defined by the Framework.The API allows the application to specify the events and the responsesto the events using the Application Framework. In some implementations,an API call can report to an application the capabilities or state of ahardware device, including those related to aspects such as inputcapabilities and state, output capabilities and state, processingcapability, power state, storage capacity and state, communicationscapability, etc., and the API may be implemented in part by firmware,microcode, or other low level logic that executes in part on thehardware component.

The API-calling component may be a local component (i.e., on the samedata processing system as the API-implementing component) or a remotecomponent (i.e., on a different data processing system from theAPI-implementing component) that communicates with the API-implementingcomponent through the API over a network. It should be understood thatan API-implementing component may also act as an API-calling component(i.e., it may make API calls to an API exposed by a differentAPI-implementing component) and an API-calling component may also act asan API-implementing component by implementing an API that is exposed toa different API-calling component.

The API may allow multiple API-calling components written in differentprogramming languages to communicate with the API-implementing component(thus the API may include features for translating calls and returnsbetween the API-implementing component and the API-calling component);however the API may be implemented in terms of a specific programminglanguage. An API-calling component can, in one embedment, call APIs fromdifferent providers such as a set of APIs from an OS provider andanother set of APIs from a plug-in provider and another set of APIs fromanother provider (e.g. the provider of a software library) or creator ofthe another set of APIs.

It will be apparent from this description that aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied, at least in part, in software. That is, thetechniques may be carried out in a data processing system in response toits processor executing a sequence of instructions contained in astorage medium, such as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium(e.g. DRAM or flash memory). In various embodiments, hardwired circuitrymay be used in combination with software instructions to implement thepresent invention. Thus the techniques are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software, or to any particularsource for the instructions executed by the data processing system.Moreover, it will be understood that where mobile or handheld devicesare described, the description encompasses mobile devices (e.g., laptopdevices, tablet devices), handheld devices (e.g., smartphones), as wellas embedded systems suitable for use in wearable electronic devices.

The systems and methods described herein can be implemented in a varietyof different data processing systems and devices, includinggeneral-purpose computer systems, special purpose computer systems, or ahybrid of general purpose and special purpose computer systems.Exemplary data processing systems that can use any one of the methodsdescribed herein include desktop computers, laptop computers, tabletcomputers, smart phones, cellular telephones, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), embedded electronic devices, or consumer electronicdevices.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of data processing system hardware accordingto an embodiment. Note that while FIG. 24 illustrates the variouscomponents of a data processing system that may be incorporated into amobile or handheld device, it is not intended to represent anyparticular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components assuch details are not germane to the present invention. It will also beappreciated that other types of data processing systems that have fewercomponents than shown or more components than shown in FIG. 24 can alsobe used with the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 24, the data processing system includes one or morebuses 1309 that serve to interconnect the various components of thesystem. One or more processors 1303 are coupled to the one or more buses1309 as is known in the art. Memory 1305 may be DRAM or non-volatile RAMor may be flash memory or other types of memory or a combination of suchmemory devices. This memory is coupled to the one or more buses 1309using techniques known in the art. The data processing system can alsoinclude non-volatile memory 1307, which may be a hard disk drive or aflash memory or a magnetic optical drive or magnetic memory or anoptical drive or other types of memory systems that maintain data evenafter power is removed from the system. The non-volatile memory 1307 andthe memory 1305 are both coupled to the one or more buses 1309 usingknown interfaces and connection techniques. A display controller 1322 iscoupled to the one or more buses 1309 in order to receive display datato be displayed on a display device 1323. The display device 1323 caninclude an integrated touch input to provide a touch screen. The dataprocessing system can also include one or more input/output (I/O)controllers 1315 which provide interfaces for one or more I/O devices,such as one or more mice, touch screens, touch pads, joysticks, andother input devices including those known in the art and output devices(e.g. speakers). The input/output devices 1317 are coupled through oneor more I/O controllers 1315 as is known in the art.

While FIG. 24 shows that the non-volatile memory 1307 and the memory1305 are coupled to the one or more buses directly rather than through anetwork interface, it will be appreciated that the present invention canutilize non-volatile memory that is remote from the system, such as anetwork storage device which is coupled to the data processing systemthrough a network interface such as a modem or Ethernet interface. Thebuses 1309 can be connected to each other through various bridges,controllers and/or adapters as is well known in the art. In oneembodiment the I/O controller 1315 includes one or more of a USB(Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, an IEEE1394 controller for IEEE 1394 compliant peripherals, or a Thunderboltcontroller for controlling Thunderbolt peripherals. In one embodiment,one or more network device(s) 1325 can be coupled to the bus(es) 1309.The network device(s) 1325 can be wired network devices (e.g., Ethernet)or wireless network devices (e.g., WI-FI, Bluetooth) or both.

It will be apparent from this description that aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied, at least in part, in software. That is, thetechniques may be carried out in a data processing system in response toits processor executing a sequence of instructions contained in astorage medium, such as a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium(e.g. DRAM or flash memory). In various embodiments, hardwired circuitrymay be used in combination with software instructions to implement thepresent invention. Thus the techniques are not limited to any specificcombination of hardware circuitry and software, or to any particularsource for the instructions executed by the data processing system.Moreover, it will be understood that where mobile or handheld devicesare described, the description encompasses mobile devices (e.g., laptopdevices, tablet devices), handheld devices (e.g., smartphones), as wellas embedded systems suitable for use in wearable electronic devices.

The present disclosure recognizes that the use of personal informationdata, in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users.For example, the personal information data can be used to deliverinformation or targeted content that is of greater interest to the user.Accordingly, use of such personal information data can enable calculatedcontrol of the delivered content. Further, other uses for personalinformation data that benefit the user are also contemplated by thepresent disclosure.

The present disclosure further contemplates that the entitiesresponsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage,or other use of such personal information data will comply withwell-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. Inparticular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacypolicies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting orexceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personalinformation data private and secure. For example, personal informationfrom users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of theentity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further,such collection should occur only after receiving the informed consentof the users. Additionally, such entities would take any needed stepsfor safeguarding and securing access to such personal information dataand ensuring that others with access to the personal information dataadhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entitiescan subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify theiradherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices.

Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplatesembodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to,personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplatesthat hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent orblock access to such personal information data. For example, in the caseof health information or advertisement delivery services, the presenttechnology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or“opt out” of participation in the collection of personal informationdata during registration for services. In another example, users canselect not to provide location information for targeted content deliveryservices. In yet another example, users can select to not provideprecise location information, but permit the transfer of location zoneinformation.

In the foregoing specification, specific exemplary embodiments have beendescribed. It will be evident that various modifications may be made tothose embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scopeset forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are,accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than arestrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory machine-readable mediumstoring executable program instructions which when executed by a dataprocessing system cause the data processing system to perform operationscomprising: displaying a first messaging application on a first device,the first messaging application configured to communicate text messageswith other messaging applications including a second messagingapplication on a second device through one or more messaging servers;receiving a command to display a first polling extension applicationwithin a view hosted by the first messaging application, the firstpolling extension application configured to communicate with the firstmessaging application; displaying, in response to the command, a userinterface of the first polling extension application within the view onthe first device, the user interface configured to receive a selectionof an item in a poll, wherein the first polling extension application isconfigured to merge or synchronize one or more polling contexts for thepoll received via one or more servers in a cloud storage system with oneor more further polling contexts for the poll received via the one ormore messaging servers; and displaying, as a result of the merge orsynchronization, current poll results in the user interface of the firstpolling extension application.
 2. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the user interface is configured to receiveand display a polling question for the poll and one or more answers tothe polling question.
 3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium ofclaim 2, wherein the first polling extension application on the firstdevice transmits one or more polling contexts for the poll to the firstmessaging application for transmission to a second polling extensionapplication through the second messaging application on the seconddevice and via the one or more messaging servers.
 4. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the first polling extensionapplication receives, from the first messaging application, the one ormore further polling contexts for the poll from at least the secondpolling extension application through the second messaging applicationand via the one or more messaging servers.
 5. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the first polling extensionapplication is configured to receive, via the one or more servers in thecloud storage system, and to transmit, via the one or more servers, oneor more polling contexts for the poll.
 6. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 2, wherein at least one of the one ormore answers is an image captured with a camera on the data processingsystem.
 7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the command to display the first polling extension applicationis one of: (a) a user selection of an icon in a UI of the firstmessaging application; (b) a user selection of a bubble containing datasent by a second polling extension application or the first pollingextension application; or (c) a selection from a process executing onthe first device, the selection from the process performed without userinput from a user.
 8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein the first polling extension application calls, throughan Application Programming Interface (API), to the first messagingapplication to request a change of a view of the first polling extensionapplication within the first messaging application, wherein the changeis a switch between a compact view, that replaces or overlays anon-screen keyboard of the first messaging application while a messagetranscript of the first messaging application is viewable, and anexpanded view in which the message transcript is not viewable.
 9. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the firstmessaging application and the first polling extension application areconfigured to communicate through an IPC, and the first messagingapplication executes in a first sandboxed process and the first pollingextension application executes in a second sandboxed process that isdistinct from the first sandboxed process.
 10. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first messagingapplication encrypts the one or more polling contexts before sending theone or more polling contexts to the second messaging application throughthe one or more messaging servers.
 11. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the first and the secondmessaging applications are each configured to transmit and receive ShortMessage Service (SMS) text messages and other content and display thetext messages in a message transcript.
 12. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first polling extensionapplication is configured to be executed by the first messagingapplication and the first polling extension application is unexecutableby applications outside of the first messaging application.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, the first pollingextension application having been downloaded from an on-line store forextension applications based on an application identifier previouslyassigned to the first polling extension application, the applicationidentifier being included in a text message received from the seconddevice in association with the poll.
 14. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of independent claim 1, wherein the firstpolling extension application has been downloaded and installed by thefirst messaging application for use within the first messagingapplication, and wherein downloading and installing the first pollingextension application is controlled exclusively by the first messagingapplication.
 15. A computer-implemented method comprising: displaying afirst messaging application on a first device, the first messagingapplication configured to communicate text messages with other messagingapplications including a second messaging application on a second devicethrough one or more messaging servers; receiving a command to display afirst polling extension application within a view hosted by the firstmessaging application, the first polling extension applicationconfigured to communicate with the first messaging application;displaying, in response to the command, a user interface of the firstpolling extension application within the view on the first device, theuser interface configured to receive a selection of an item in a poll,wherein the first polling extension application is configured to mergeor synchronize one or more polling contexts for the poll received viaone or more servers of a cloud storage system with one or more furtherpolling contexts received via the one or more messaging servers; anddisplaying, as a result of the merge or synchronization, current pollresults in the user interface of the first polling extensionapplication.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user interface isconfigured to receive and display a polling question for the poll andone or more answers to the polling question.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the first polling extension application on the first devicetransmits one or more polling contexts for the poll to the firstmessaging application for transmission to a second polling extensionapplication through the second messaging application on the seconddevice.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first polling extensionapplication receives, from the first messaging application, the one ormore further polling contexts for the poll from at least the secondpolling extension application through the second messaging applicationand via the one or more messaging servers.
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the first polling extension application is configured toreceive, via the one or more servers of a cloud storage system, and totransmit, via the one or more servers of the cloud storage system, oneor more polling contexts for the poll.
 20. The method of claim 16,wherein at least one of the one or more answers is an image capturedwith a camera on a data processing system.
 21. The method of claim 15,wherein the command to display the first polling extension applicationis one of: a user selection of an icon in a UI of the first messagingapplication; a user selection of a bubble containing data sent by asecond polling extension application or the first polling extensionapplication; or a selection from a process executing on the firstdevice, the selection from the process performed without user input froma user.
 22. The method of claim 17, wherein the first polling extensionapplication is configured to communicate poll contexts with the secondpolling extension application via the one or more servers of the cloudstorage system, wherein the one or more servers of the cloud storagesystem are separate from the one or more messaging servers.
 23. A devicecomprising: a memory; and at least one processor configured to: displaya first messaging application on a first device, the first messagingapplication configured to communicate messages with a second messagingapplication on a second device through one or more messaging servers;receive, within the first messaging application, a command to display afirst polling extension application within a view hosted by the firstmessaging application; and display, in response to the command, a userinterface of the first polling extension application within the view onthe first device, the user interface configured to receive a selectionof an item in a poll, wherein the first polling extension application isconfigured to synchronize one or more selections for the poll receivedvia a cloud server with one or more selections for the poll received viathe one or more messaging servers; and display, as a result of thesynchronization, current poll results in the user interface of the firstpolling extension application.